Water engine



R. J. WILSON WATER ENGINE July 14; 1925- Mled Oct. 18, 1922 Q INVENTOR a Rake/kl W BY 7% I ATTORNEY its.

4 ROBERT J. WILSON, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

WATER ENGINE.

Application filed October 18, 1922. Serial No. 595,248.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, ROBERT J. l/VILsoN, a citizen of the United States. residing at Seattle, county of King, and State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Water Engine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact specification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention is a water propelled device for generating power.

The object of the invention is to provide a water engine in which the downward pressure of a large quantity of water will be utilized and multiplied so that it will act upon a small quantity of water thereby giving a small quantity of water a high pressure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device through which a large quantity of water will force a small quantity of water any desired distance, which device will work automatically and continuously.

And a further object of the invention is to provide a water engine with two sets of cylinders and pumps in which the pumps may be adjusted so that a greater or lesser force may be applied to the water that is pumped by them.

With these ends in view the invention embodies a trough with vertical pipes extending downward from each end, two sets of butterfly valves in the pipes with suitable rods connecting them, sliding sleeves over the lower ends of the pipes, valves at the lower ends of the sleeves with suitable levers and springs for opening and closing them, a beam supported on a fulcrum midway between the two pipes and having each end pivotally connected to the sliding sleeves, cylinders connected to the base of the tulcrum which have pistons in them that are connected to the beam and pipes connecting the cylinders to a suitable reservoir which has an air chamber on it and from which the delivery pipe may be taken.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the draw ings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation with parts broken away.

Figure 2 is a part sectional view on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end view on line 33 of Figure 1 with parts broken away. I

In the drawings I have shown my device as it would be constructed wherein numeral 1 indicates a supply trough which has vertical pipes 2 and 3 extending downward from each end. Butterfly valves 4 and 5 are pivotally mounted in these pipes on pins 6 and 7 and are connected together by rods 8 and 9 that are pivotally attached to lugs 10 and 11 on the valves. The upper valves 4 are connected by a rod 12 through the arms 13 and 14 and the valves are so constructed that one of them will be in the vertical position while the other is in the horizontal position as shown in Figure 1. This rod is moved backward and forward by a lever 15 that works between pins 16 and 17 on the rod 12 and this lever is pivoted by a pin 18 to a portion of the frame or to a stand 19 as shown and it is operated by the yoke 20 which is attached to the lower side of the beam 21. As the beam moves downward from the position shown in Figure 1 the up per arm 22 of the yoke will strike the end 23 of the lever 15 and cause the upper end of the lever to move toward the pipe 3 which will cause the valves 4 to move so that the valve in pipe 2 will be in a vertical position and the one in pipe 3 will be in a horizontal position. Then when the beam returns to the position shown the lower arm 24 of the yoke 20 will strike the end 23 of the lever 15 and cause the lever to return to the position shown in Figure 1 which action will also return the valves to the position shown.

Around the lower ends of the pipes 2 and 3 are sliding sleeves 25 and 26 which have bands 27 and 28 fixedly attached to them and these bands are pivotally attached by pins 29 and 30 to the ends of the beam 21.

Cup shaped leather sleeves 31 are attached to the lower ends of the pipes 2 and 3 by bands 32 and the pressure of the water forces these sleeves outward against the inner surfaces of the sleeves 25 and 26 in order to prevent water being forced between the sleeves and the pipes.

At the lower ends of the sleeves 25 and 26 are valves which are constructed with a flat plate 33 that is hinged to a lug 34 on the sleeves by a pin 35. On these plates is a flat disc 36 which fits up into the ends of the sleeves in order to form a tight seal and the plate is held in the position shown in Figure 3 by a bar 37 that fits over a latch 38 when locked. As the sleeve moves downward the outer end of the bar 37 engages the curved vertical member 39 which twists the bar' about the pivot until it slides ofli of the latch 38 at which time the weight of the water in the sleeve will force the plate downward and open the valve as shown at the lower end of the sleeve 25 in Figure 1. Then as the sleeve moves upward and the bar 37 passes above the member 39 it will be held against the vertical surface of the latch 38 by the spring 41 and as it arrives at the position of the sleeve 26 in Figure 1 the bar 42 will engage the top of the plate '33 and force the outer end downward and the inner end upward so that the disc 36 will move up into the end of the sleeve and the bar 37 will. be pulled by the spring on top-of tl'iev-latch 38 so that it will lock the valve closed and hold the water in the sleeve until itaga'in moves downward. The View shown in Figure 2 shows the valve in the closed position with the bar 37 resting upon the latch '38 where it has been pulled by the tension spring 4E1. It will be seen that as the bar '37 is pivoted upon the pin 40 and acted upon by the tension spring 41 it will snap upon the latch 38 as soon as the bar and plate 33 arrive at :the horizontal position shown in Figure 3 and it will also be seen that'as the sleeves 25 and 26 move downward the free end {of the bar '37 will engage "the member 3'9 which will cause the bar to twist about the point 40 and thereby moveoff oi' the latch 38.

-Any desired type of pump may be placed along the beam and may be located at any desired distance from the fulcrum. In the designs shown I have shown a cylinder 43 'pivotally attached by a yoke 44 to the base :45 of the fulcrum i6 and this yoke is held in .place by a cap 47 which is bolted-to the base-by bolts 48. Inside :or" the cylinder is a piston 49 which has "a va-lve'50 in it for permitting water to How up into the cylin- *der as the piston moves downward. The wpiston-is connected by ayoketland a member :52 to the beam and the-member 52 is pivotally attachedto thefbeam by abolt 53. This bolt is held'in place by "acap 5 1- and fits into one of the notches :55 in the beam and cap. Thecap is held tothe beam by the bolts 56 and when it is desired to move the pump either toward or away from the :fulcrum these bolts 56 and "also the bolts 48 are loosened so'that the bolt 53 and theyoke 44: may be moved to another set oi' the 'hole and also to-the pipe 1 61 which "connects it to the reservoir or compression tank 62 and at the point'where the pipe 61- is connected to the tank 62 is another check valve 63. In the upper side of the tank is an air chamber i l which keeps the water in the tank at a constant pressure and in one side of the tank is a delivery pipe 65.

A cylinder and piston forming a pump similar to the one described in the above 11 aragraph is placed on the opposite side of the fulcrum and connected to the reservoir in the same manner. It will be seen that as one end of the beam moves downward the piston in the cylinder on the far side of the fulcrum will move upward in the cylinder and force the water through the pipe 61 and into the reservoir; and then as the other end of the beam moves downward the other pump will operate in the same manner thus causing a continuous flow vof water as the beam moves upward and downward about its fulcrum.

. It will be understood that changes may be made in the construction without departing from the splrit ofthe inventlon. One of which changes may be in the type or design of pump used or in the method of holding it or operating it from the beam. Another change may be in the type of valves used or in the means for operating them. And still another changemay be in the size of the pumps or the pipes as either may be either larger or smaller than the other;

The construction will be readily understood from the foregoing description. To usethe device it may be inserted in a stream or other means for supplying water to the trough 1 and the pumps may be placed so that the lower ends of the cylinders will be immersed in water. T i -n as the pipeatone endfills with water the weight of the water will force one of the sleeves 25 or 26 clownuard and in doing so the beam will draw the piston in the pump cylinder upward so that the water in the cylinderwill be forced into the reservoir. At the same time the sleeveat the opposite end ofthe device will move upward and the piston-in the cylinder cit-the other pump will move such. water into the chamber through the valve 50. When the beam has reachedthe end of its movement the valve at the bottom-o1? the sleeve will be opened-as hereinbefore described and the butterfly valves in the pipe will bemoved from the vertical to the horizontal position so that the weight of a column of water in the pipe will be cutoff at this end and by'the same move ment it will be applied at the other end so thatthe sleeve at thatend will move downward. It will be seen that as one end oi? the column of water being appliedto-itit willoperate thepump and also move the opposite end, which wlll beempty, upward.

downward and the beam moves downward by the weight of It will also be seen that this action will operate the valves in the vertical pipes so that a continuous operation may be obtained as long as there is water in the trough 1. It will also be seen that the weight of a column of water applied at the end of the beam may be multiplied as many times as may be desired by placing the pump close to the fulcrum so that the water coming from the pumps will have a very high pressure and therefore may be raised to a high elevation.

Having thus fully described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A pumping apparatus having a horizontal container with cylindrical casings extending downward at the ends; a beam with other cylindrical casings at its ends supported midway between the two former casings and arranged so that the casings on the beam will slide over the former casings; valves in the lower ends of the former casings; other valves in the former casings at distances from the former valves which will be about equal to the length of the latter casings; other valves in the lower ends of the latter casings; means for opening these valves as the casings approach the lower position; a means for automatically closing these valves as the casings move upward; means for opening the valves in the former casings simultaneously as the latter casings arrive at the upper position; and other means for closing these valves as the latter casings arrive at the lower position.

2. In a hydraulic pumping apparatus, a beam, means for pivotally supporting the beam at the center, vertical sleeves pivotally attached to the ends of the beam, other vertical sleeves over which the former sleeves slide, means for supplying a constant supply of liquid to the upper ends of the latter sleeves, means for closing the lower ends of the latter sleeves as the former sleeves arrive at the lower positions, and means for opening the lower ends of the former sleeves as they arrive at their lower positions.

3. In a power machine, a beam pivotally supported at the center, cylinders pivotally attached to the ends of the beam, releasing means in the lower ends of the cylinders, means for automatically operating the releasing means as the cylinders arrive at their lower positions, other means for automatically closing the said releasing means as the cylinders start to move upward, other means "for bringing the pressure of a long column 01 water upon the cylinders as they arrive at their upper positions, and means for automatically shutting off the column of liquid and permitting a predetermined amount or the liquid to escape through the cylinders.

4. A power machine having a beam pivotally supported at the center, vertical cylinders pivotally attached to the ends of the beam, valves in the lower ends of the cylinders, stationary vertical cylinders over which the former cylinders slide, valves at the lower ends of the stationary cylinders, other valves in the stationary cylinders somewhat above the former valves, connections between the lower and upper valves to cause them to operate simultaneously, automatic means for opening these valves as the movable cylinders arrive at their upper positions, other means for automatically closing the valves as the movable cylinders arrive at their lower positions, means for opening the valves at'the lower ends of the movable cylinders as they arrive at their lower positions, and other means for closing the valves as the cylinders start upward.

5. In a power device, receptacles pivotally attached to the ends of a beam pivotally supported at the center, other receptacles superimposed above and co-acting with said former receptacles, means for releasing a long column of liquid against the lower receptacles through the former receptacles, means for opening the lower ends of the lower receptacles and closing the upper receptacles as the lower receptacles arrive at their lower positions, means for closing the lower receptacles as they start upward and other means for opening the upper receptacles as the lower receptacles arrive at the upper positions,

6. In a power device, casings pivotally attached to the ends of a beam pivotally supported at the center, valves in the lower ends of the casings, other casings above and co-acting with the lower casings, valves at the lower ends of the upper casings, other valves in the upper casings somewhat above the latter valves and connected to them, means for opening the valves of the upper casings as the lower casings arrive at their upper positions, means for closing the valves in the upper casings and closing the valves in the lower casings as the lower casings arrive at their lower positions, and other means for closing the valves in the lower casings as they start upward.

7. In a power apparatus a pivotally supported beam, vertical casings pivotally supported at the ends of the beam, stationary vertical casings over the lower ends of which the former casings slide, means for releasing a fluid in the upper casings as the loWer casings arrive at their upper positions, means for closing the releasing means in the upper casings and opening the lower casings as the lower casings arrive at their lower positions, and other means for closing the lower casings as they start upward.

8. In a power device, casings pivotally attached to the ends of a beam pivotally supported at the center, valves in the lower ends of the casings, other casings above and co-acting with the lower casings, valves at the lower ends of the upper casings, other valves in the upper casings somewhat above the latter valves and connected to them, means for automatically opening the valves of the upper casings as the lower casings arrive at their upper positions, means for automatically closing the valves in the casings and for opening the valves in the lower casings as the lower casings arrive at their lower positions, and other means tor automatically closing the valves in the lower casings as they start upward.

9. In a power apparatus a pivotally supported heam, vertical casings pivotally supported to the ends of the beam. stationary vertical oz sings over the lower ends of which the former casings slide, means for automatically releasing a fluid in the upper cas ings as the lower casings arriveat their upper positions, means for automatically closing the releasing means in the upper casings and automatically opening the lower casings as the lower casings arrive at their v lower positions, and other means for automatically closing the lower casmgs as they start upward.

ROBERT J. WILSON. 

